Warner's Circuitous Route To Nfl Fame

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Charley Armey was well into the tale of all tales for the 1999 National Football League season, of how he found Kurt Warner, lost in the ozone between Iowa and Amsterdam.

"Everybody was aware of what Kurt had been doing in the Arena Football League," said Armey, the former Patriots executive and current vice president of player personnel for the St. Louis Rams.

"There were write-ups in the papers and videotapes, so you knew about the guy. And I had worked out other arena league guys."

Warner had a tryout with the Green Bay Packers in the 1994 training camp, but was so intimidated by Brett Favre and the other quarterbacks that he was reluctant to even take snaps in scrimmages.

Many minds in the NFL closed. Warner went off to the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League, where he played from 1995-97.

Then one day, coach Al Luginbill of the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe called--his 12th NFL team, as it were--and talked to Armey. Armey's mind was not closed, especially since Luginbill, Marshall Faulk's former coach at San Diego State, was a longtime friend.

"Al was calling and he was looking for a quarterback and he was asking me about working out Kurt," said Armey.

"Kurt had come from Northern Iowa and then what I did was look up the report I had done on Kurt when I was with the Patriots.

"And then I noticed in the report I'd done with the Patriots that I had written, `(Warner) has a chance to develop into a solid player in the NFL.' I had written that because of his accuracy and his arm strength.

"But, you know, at New England, we weren't really looking for a quarterback with Drew (Bledsoe) there and (Scott) Zolak."

NFL scouts have pals strewn throughout all the highways and byways of America. It's a necessity. The pipeline must be replenished every year with nuggets about a hidden gem at some unknown school.

Armey recalled that he had a pal, Mike Kolling, on the staff of Northern Iowa "and my first coaching job I ever had, at a high school in Grainsville, Minn., Mike was my quarterback. So I just called and asked him about Warner, to get a little background on the kid.

"Mike said, `You really need to work this guy out because his arm is so accurate.' Already, it was an unbelievable story with Warner, because in five years at Northern Iowa, it wasn't until his senior year that he had ever played. And then he went into Green Bay's camp and they never really gave him a chance since they had Favre and (Mark) Brunell there."

So Armey went to Rams coach Dick Vermeil and the two decided to bring in Warner for a workout.

"We were both struck by how quickly he got rid of the ball--and that was strictly because of the arena league and how fast-paced it is--and how accurate he was," Armey said.

"He always put the ball where the receivers could catch it without adjusting their routes. But what you never know about a quarterback is how well he runs a team and manages a team."

The answer, Armey and Vermeil decided, could only be found in NFL Europe. So Armey and the Rams signed Warner in December 1997 and shipped him to Amsterdam in 1998.

"He immediately started lighting it up there," said Armey.

Armey's mind was not closed--the Rams signed a totally unknown quarterback and shipped him off to Europe.

And "what's happened," said Armey, "is one of the great Cinderella stories you've ever heard of in the NFL."

Warner, of course, replaced the injured Trent Green for St. Louis in the exhibition season and has already won the Most Valuable Player Award for the 1999 season.